This invention relates to a compact combiner for use with semiconductor devices in the microwave frequency range. Said combiner incorporates a plurality of semiconductor chips on a single wafer and comprises an impedance-matching and balancing circuit arranged on a dielectric substrate chosen for reducing the dimensions of impedance-matching microstrip, thus making it possible to produce a combiner of compact design. Furthermore, the substrate material which supports the microstrips can be chosen so as to ensure that the combiner exhibits very low sensitivity to temperature variations.
The invention will be explained in the case of a diode combiner since this simplifies both the description and the figures but the application of the combiner to other semiconductor devices such as microwave transistors follows from the arrangement shown with diodes in the accompanying drawings.
The invention provides the answer to a double problem which is specific to microwave devices, namely the power problem and the problem of dimensional requirements.